Next-Gen Chevrolet Cruze delayed by a year; Debut in 2015

For all you Cruze missile fans out there, here’s a bummer: the next generation Chevrolet Cruze has been delayed by a year. The car was originally scheduled to be launched in late 2014. This timeline has been pushed back by a year to late 2015. So, if the next-gen Cruze is launched in the US market only in the end of 2015, expect the car to come to India in 2016. Now, that’s a yawn inducing two and a half more more years. Apparently, the big boys at GM USA feel that the current Cruze isn’t looking dated by any stretch of imagination and hence they are said to be looking at squeezing more sales from the current platform.

So, a refresh could be lined up for the current generation Cruze in the next year or so as the car needs to motor on for a year more before the next-gen model can replace it. Talking platforms, the next generation Cruze will use the D2XX platform, General Motors’ answer to Volkswagen’s MQB platform and Nissan-Renault’s CMF architecture. The 2015 Cruze will share its platform and many of its parts with other GM cars. The D2XX platform sharing will span across a whopping 2 million GM cars. Coming back to the 2015 Cruze, the car will get bigger than before, following the trend in the C+ segment. Think Octavia, for starters.

Apart from growing in size, expect more fuel efficient turbo petrol and turbo diesel engines on the next-gen model. Revised styling is the other big aspect of the 2015 Cruze, which will be a totally new model, right from the platform it uses. In India, the current-gen Cruze is sold with a 2 liter turbo diesel engine that pumps out 166 PS-380 Nm. Known as a torque bomb, the Cruze excels in straight line acceleration. In the corners though, you’ll be letting other sure footed sedans show you the finger. Even so, the Cruze’s good looks and explosive torque has meant that the car’s a decent seller for the brand with the bow tie.